Friday, 15 March 2013

Goshawk snippets

Last week developed a Goshawk theme. A day in the Brecks on one of the few warm
spring-like days so far resulted in some opportunistic top-of-forest watching,
with views of a displaying pair in a regular location. Largely a bird of big
forests, Goshawk has a small but increasing population in Thetford Forest with
eight pairs located by regular observers last year.I then departed for a couple of days in
deepest Wales, where despite deteriorating weather, I was lucky enough to see
another couple of birds.The first was a
male flushed from a woodland ride early in the morning.It weaved its way heavily between the trees carrying
a lumpy prey item which appeared to be a crow.Landing in a small copse ahead of us to pluck the bird, we crept forward
hopeful of a reasonable view, but typically it vanished in a couple of wing-beats,
taking its breakfast with it.Later, it
or another male was displaying over the woodland, pinpointing a possible nest
site.Two UK studies have shown that
crows and pigeons make up the bulk (around 68%) of the diet of Goshawks during
the breeding season.This is similar to
the diet of Dutch birds but different to those in Scandinavia where grouse make
up a bigger percentage of the prey.The
Goshawk has little competition in the UK.Peregrines are closest in diet but Goshawks are more versatile; taking
prey in wooded landscapes and from the ground.

Locally in the Lee Valley area, I have
only managed a paltry three birds in 40 years of birding, and one of those had
jesses.Even four years of living in a
house overlooking Epping Forest, where they are regularly claimed, resulted in
nil sightings. The aforementioned bird with jesses; at Amwell in 1988, memorably
took a Wood Pigeon with some force in flight, turning the pigeon into a
firework explosion of feathers in the sky, followed by the gently descending
feathery sparkles after the birds had long gone.

A grizzled old ecologist/birder, usually to be found roaming around the Lee Valley and occasionally further afield. Fortunate to be involved in the management of some of the UK's finest nature reserves and always looking for ways of improving them for birds.